What is a simple indicator for use inside the house to show if a circuit breaker in my garage has tripped?

The refrigerator in my garage has tripped the circuit breaker several times without my knowledge, spoiling my food. Without actually going into the garage, how can I tell if the breaker has tripped, using something such as an led or buzzer? I could hear a loud buzzer in the garage.

Comments

[Burf]

Get a failed circuit alarm. Plug it into the same circuit as the freezer and if the circuit fails, a loud buzzer sounds. Most of them require a 9 volt battery.

[frollard]

Seconded. If you can't find one, then get a 12 volt relay, and a 12 volt wall-wart power adapter. Plug it in on the same circuit as the fridge. Hook up a buzzer on batteries to the 'normally closed' on the relay so that when power fails it sounds the buzzer.

[seandogue]

+1

[thinkpadt30]

Thanks for the help! I am ordering a relay, wall-wart and buzzer. I might just run long wires to the buzzer and put it in the house. I will hear it for sure then!

[thinkpadt30]

I have a small freezer and a medium-sized refrigerator plugged in to the only outlet. I think the breaker trips when both compressors happen to be cycling on at the same time. The breaker (in a rented house) is a lower wattage than I would like, but I'm stuck with this situation.

[steveastrouk]

What's the breaker rated at ?

[steveastrouk]

How about a cheap wallwart, say 3V out, and an LED in the garage wall you can see from in the house ? No LED, No fridge.

I'm with L. though you MUST find out WHY its tripping. Is the garage on a GFI ? Do you KNOW its the fridge tripping it ? Get a licensed electrician to test the refrigerator for ground leakage.

Is the compressor getting hot ?

Steve

[lemonie]

'Fridges shouldn't do this.
You should find out why and fix that.
Is it old, sitting in a puddle, rusty, inadequately ventilated around the radator etc?

L